Cert III - worthless?

[lynxcat]

Hello, writing to know your opinion on certificate III. My friend has told me that it is not very desirable and majority employers do not care for it and require employee to have Diploma even for cert III duties. Is this true in practice? I do see job ads that seek cert III staff, but do they give priority to Diploma graduates. Thank you.

[Lorina]

No, I don't think a cert 3 is worthless! For an employer to hire a Diploma to do an assistant educators position it costs more than to hire a cert 3 educator anyway... The Diploma assistant still has to carry out all the duties and responsibilities as a cert 3 educator... So, why would an employer rather a Diploma (which costs more) for the same position as a cert 3 (cost less because of qualification).

If you are only wanting to be an assistant educator and working in childcare temporarily or happy just being an assistant then you do not need a Diploma qualification, a cert 3 qualification is fine. I also think employers hire staff based on the needs of the centre. A Diploma qualified assistant may be helpful to jump into a lead role in the near future if someone were to leave for example...

I wouldn't worry there are many cert 3 positions available, as long as you show you are right for the role then it doesn't matter whether you have a cert 3 or Diploma in the end!

Good Luck!

,
Lorina

[lynxcat]

Thank you Lorina for explaining. It's just that friend is experienced childcare worker with both certifications and was staunchly against me getting a cert III but to wait and start Diploma instead only because of reasons mentioned earlier.

[Lorina]

Now that the cert 3 units are embedded into the Diploma qualification, some students would rather do the Diploma because you become a cert 3 qualified as well as a Diploma qualified. It depends on what you want to do... In the future, if you would like to move onto a room leader position then go for a Diploma... All centres are different and their requirements for hiring an educator is based on the centres needs but it doesn't mean they prefer one qualification over another. It depends on the position and the applicants the centre receives.

Up to you!

,
Lorina